The weather is really starting to warm up. I was even able to spend a couple hours reading in the backyard this afternoon. When this happens and the date reaches the middle of March it’s the time when gardening becomes something to do instead of just something to plan for and think about. My favourite farming and gardening blog had a post this week about his seed-starting schedule. Obviously, this also means that seeds go quickly from being in envelopes that fit in a drawer to plastic trays full of dirt that, well, don’t really fit anywhere.
Lettuce seedlings getting a "leggy" are ready for transplanting
We’re lucky to have a big window in our bedroom that faces south and gets plenty of sunshine. While this spot has served us well for starting lettuce seeds I get the sense that Kat is not particularly happy about the black plastic as a decor option. I think I’m pretty sensitive that way. So, we count ourselves even luckier that my mother had a micro-greenhouse kit that she was willing to part with.
The mini-greenhouse set up in the backyard.
I assembled it yesterday and placed it in a sunny corner of the backyard. Surprisingly it manages to raise the temperature of the air inside six or seven degrees celsius warmer that the general air temperature. Once the small lettuce plants are transplanted this will be a great place for them during the day.
Food With Legs 
March 16, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I am happy to decorate with black plastic it’s the dirt on the windowsill that is gross.
I am really looking forward to more gardening this summer and I will be sure to avoid stepping on the carrots this year.
xo Green Thumb Kat
March 16, 2009 at 1:20 pm
That’s fair. I have to admit that I am a bit surprised by how much dirt is thrown around when the seed trays get their spray from the water bottle. I’ll have to work on a better dirt containment system.
As for the carrots: I understand that they are great friends with tomatoes (a book about companion planting is even named “Carrots Love Tomatoes”) so it will be much more difficult to step on this year’s carrot crop.
March 17, 2009 at 11:56 pm
[…] carrots. For this summer that garden has expanded by about 50%; we’ll be growing whatever, whereever we can in our backyard in the city; and I’m doing some research on Toronto’s community […]